Chapter Five
Thea groaned as her brain came back online. She opened her eyes and winced at the sharp ache in her head, letting out a little whimper as she shut her eyes and pressed a hand to her head.
What the hell had happened?
“Hey, you’re awake.”
A voice, rich and deep, sent a pleasant shiver down Thea’s spine. The ache in her head passed and she opened her eyes more slowly this time.
A male’s face came into view.
He was…the sexiest guy she’d ever seen in her life.
Dark hair, dark eyes, stubble on his cheeks. He smelled like fall and woods.
Like home.
Her bird let out a piercing, happy cry in her head and she winced again at the internal sound.
She sucked in a breath and backed up, hitting the back of a couch. A quick glance around revealed a living room, herself and the male the only two occupants. She wasn’t in her shift anymore but was naked and covered with a blanket.
“Wh-where am I?” she asked, her voice cracking. Her throat was dry, and she was still confused as hell.
“You’re in Allen, Kentucky in my parents’ home. My name is Bram Gerrick. What’s your name?”
She blinked slowly, trying not to say the one thing on her mind: take me to bed, Bram. Gripping the blanket to her chest, she said, “My name’s Thea Malone. I had a bag.”
He arched a brow. “I didn’t see one. What kind of bag? And how do you carry a bag when you fly?”
“It’s a crossbody, so I cinch it tight before I shift, and it stays on during the flight. But it must have fallen off when I fell.”
“Do you need me to get the doctor? I can take you to a hospital if you need me to.”
She just wanted to fall into his arms, honestly. How the hell was it possible that she’d been flying to South Carolina and tumbled into the path of her truemate?
“I think I’m okay.”
He smiled. And it devastated her.
How did anyone have the right to be so damn sexy?
“Are you sure about that?”
“About what?”
“That you’re okay. It sounded more like a question.”
He rose to his feet, towering over her.
She did not take a peek at parts south. Well, maybe she did a little. He was wearing jeans that fit just right, hiding anything tantalizing from view.
“I’m okay. I swear.”
“I can send some of my friends to scout for your bag where I found you. But in the meantime, my mom left some clothes for you.”
He walked out of the room.
“Bram?”
He returned quickly, standing in the doorway.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Finding me and bringing me to safety.”
“I’m glad I was there.”
He left again, and she dressed in leggings and a sweater, putting fuzzy slippers on. Bram called out, “You decent, Thea?”
“Yep.”
She sat on the couch and rolled her neck. Her shoulders ached a bit, but she thankfully hadn’t broken anything in her fall.
He brought in a bottle of ibuprofen and a glass of water. “I thought you might be sore. You fell from pretty high.” He sat next to her, close but not touching, and handed her the glass. “Do you remember what happened?”
She took a drink of water while he opened the bottle.
“I was on my way to South Carolina to my family’s winter nesting grounds. I saw what looked like a bonfire below me, and then my homing instincts went crazy. I tried to fight my way out of a freefall, but I couldn’t. Then I hit the ground and…” she paused as she remembered what she’d felt just before she passed out.
“And what?” Bram held out two pills.
She took them and drained the rest of the water. As she set the empty glass on the coffee table, she said, “Then I woke up here.”
She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes.
He moved next to her, and she caught a whiff of his masculine scent, which made all her feminine instincts cheer. Peeking one eye open just a bit, she saw he’d turned in the seat to face her, resting his head on his upturned hand.
“You can tell me whatever you were going to say.”
“It feels nuts.”
She closed her eye again.
She needed time to think. And she needed her bag so she could call her parents and tell them what happened. Her bird was not in any mood to take to the sky again and head to South Carolina, not when she’d miraculously found her truemate. She didn’t think she could even shift if she needed to. Her bird was making all sorts of inappropriate suggestions in her mind, and she was honestly afraid they were going to come spilling out of her mouth.
His finger brushed down her neck and she nearly shot out of the seat.
Shivers erupted where he touched her, a path of fire from behind her ear to her collarbone.
“I remember thinking that I’d found home.”
Instead of pulling away from his touch, because it was overwhelming, she turned to the side to face him and pressed her hand to hold his against her neck. His eyes were flashing bits of amber among the chocolate brown.
“I saw you fly over,” he said, his voice low and gruff, “and I felt compelled to follow. I saw you tumble from the sky and land, and I was scared as hell that you’d died. I didn’t know why I felt so connected to you until I shifted and touched you. Then I knew.”
“What did you know?” she asked.
“Hey, you’re awake and human!” a woman said as she walked into the room. “Oh, oops. Am I interrupting?”
“No, you’re fine, Mom,” Bram said, with a smile. “This is my mom, Cadence. This is Thea.”
“It’s nice to meet you. How are you feeling?”
“Glad to be alive.”
“I bet. Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?”
Her stomach took that moment to growl embarrassingly loud.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Cadence said with a chuckle. “Come on in the kitchen. The pack has mostly cleared out, but our family is here.”
She left them alone.
“So you’re a wolf?” Thea asked.
“Yep. What kind of bird are you? Your feathers aren’t quite the right color for a hawk.”
“Golden eagle.”
“I didn’t know there were golden eagle shifters. Where is your nest?”
“Indiana.”
“Damn. How long were you flying when you fell?” He stood and held out his hand to her. She put her hand in his and he pulled her gently to her feet.
“A few hours. It’s about ten hours to South Carolina.”
“Do you need to call someone?”
“I should call my parents. But I’ll wait to see if they find my bag first.”
What she really wanted to do was get back to their conversation so he could tell her what he knew, even though she was sure he was going to say that he knew they were truemates.
Her people believed in truemates, but they also believed in not waiting around forever and choosing to go the arranged mating route. Once a male or female shifted as a teenager, they generally had a few years of unmated fun and then settled down. If they happened to find their truemate during that time, then more power to them. Thea was a bit of an oddity at twenty-two and still unmated.
And now she’d found her truemate, who happened to be a wolf.
She was definitely going to get an earful from her parents about her bird’s romantic choices.
“This is my dad, Jason,” Bram said as they walked into the kitchen.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Thea said, shaking his hand.
“My brother Gideon is out looking for your bag along with a few of my friends,” Bram said, pulling out a chair at the table for her.
“I hope they find it,” she said. “But if they don’t, I’ll just need to call my parents.”
The table was full of food. It was the full moon, and the pack had gathered for a feast ahead of hunting, which she thought was interesting. Her nest didn’t fly at any particular time of the month, simply whenever the mood struck. Families tended to fly together, so she usually went out with her parents for a few hours, chasing bugs and small creatures.
She filled her plate with mac and cheese and breaded chicken tenders, then accepted a glass of iced tea from Cadence.
“I overheard you say you were on the way to your winter nesting grounds,” Jason said. He and Cadence were sitting across the table from her and Bram.
“Yes. In South Carolina.”
“It’s pretty late in the season, isn’t it?”
“I just finished my associate’s degree in horticulture science. I didn’t want to leave for the winter and have to do my work remotely, so I stayed behind. Our nest joins up with another nest during the winter and have been doing it for generations.”
“So you’re like a snowbird,” Cadence said.
“A what?” Thea asked.
“A snowbird is a person who goes south for warmer weather. Except you’re literally a bird.”
“I suppose so,” Thea said with a chuckle. She took a few bites of mac and cheese. It was delicious. “I actually hate the annual migration. I don’t think all bird types migrate, but ours does. My parents are very traditional, so it wouldn’t occur to them to not go to the winter grounds. They weren’t happy I stayed behind. Even if something good came out of it.”
She glanced at Bram who grinned.
“Well, you nearly died,” Bram said. “But I’m definitely glad you’re okay and here now.”
“Me too.”
There truly wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be.
She’d been flying south for the winter and wound up in the path of her truemate. If she’d flown at any other time, she might never have crossed paths with him. Luck was definitely on her side tonight. Not only had she been rescued by her truemate, but he was sexy to boot.
Conversation flowed around the table as she ate. They asked her about her family and life in Indiana, and they shared about the pack and history of Allen. She hadn’t ever been to Kentucky before, but she already liked it. Because Bram was here, and it was his home.
By the time she finished eating, four males walked into the house, one of them carrying her bag.
“Oh, thank you!” she said as she took it.
She opened the drawstring and dug out her phone. The screen was cracked, but thankfully it turned on when she pressed the side button. She’d just taken off the screen protector when it cracked after she dropped it a few weeks ago and she hadn’t gotten a replacement.
“We’ll leave you two alone,” Cadence said. She and Jason rose to their feet. “I don’t know what your plans might be for the night, but you’re welcome to our spare bedroom. I’m not trying to put any pressure on anyone, but the offer is there.”
“Thank you,” Thea said. “You’ve been so kind.”
“It’s what we do for family,” Jason said. Cadence elbowed him and he rubbed his side with a grimace. “Well, it’s true. Even if my mate thinks I’m overstepping.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Bram said.
Bram introduced her to his friends, who swiftly left them alone in the kitchen.
“Your family is really sweet.”
“Yeah, they are. I have a sister, too. Lyric lives in Ashland, Indiana with her two mountain lion mates.”
Thea’s brows rose. “Two?”
He narrowed his gaze. “You get one.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s take a step back here, sexy.”
Oops.
She hadn’t meant to call him that.
His brow winged up. He let out a little gruff wolfy purr and her heart freaking melted.
“We need to talk,” he said. “But you should call your parents and let them know you’re okay. We can talk after.”
She nodded. He tapped the table twice, winked, and left her alone in the kitchen.
She toyed with her phone, thinking about the call she was going to make.
She only really needed to tell them she’d found her truemate on her flight and wasn’t going to be heading to South Carolina for the season. What she’d do after that? Well, she needed to catch up to Bram and talk.
She hoped talk was secret wolf code for kiss.